When Ryan Boehme filed his nomination papers for re-election in mid-May, he was convinced someone else would throw their hat in the ring. He just didn’t know the ring only had space for one hat — his. The incumbent Pittsburgh District councillor will be returning for a second term after the deadline to file nomination papers on July 27 confirmed he’d be running on his lonesome. Of the 43 candidates vying for one of 13 available council seats in the coming municipal election, Boehme serves as the only acclaimed councillor. City politics, particularly when campaigning for re-election, is tricky, Boehme said over a phone interview. Garnering acclaimed status is “unconventional, sort of unexpected,” and seldom does a municipal councillor find themselves in a situation where an absolute majority is in their favour. “I was definitely thinking that somebody else may come forward,” said Boehme, who’s lived in Kingston his whole life. “You can have a very strong amount of community support, but there will always be people who’d like to see something done differently.” In the months and weeks leading to the nomination deadline, Boehme noted he “was kind of aware” he had a healthy stream of support from his district. “I had a ton of people message me ahead of time, saying, ‘We’re really pleased with you; we believe you’ve done a really good job.’ And I’m really appreciative of that, but that that doesn’t mean everyone agrees with it. “In my mind, I always kind of had it that someone would put their name forward and I’d have to run a full-fledged campaign.” When asked whether he’s relieved he’s now exempt from the often arduous, tedious nature of the municipal campaign season, Boehme said he’s “indifferent” but doesn’t want to take his acclaim for granted. “I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, no one ran against him, he’s just going to sit on his hands.’ That’s just not in my personality,” he said. “I’m still going to knock on doors, put out a brochure, and do the work to connect with people, because that’s the only way you find out what the issues are.” The group of acclaimed councillors in the city’s municipal history are a small one — and Boehme finds himself in rare company. Since the turn of the century, only two councillors have been acclaimed in a city election: George Sutherland, of the Countryside District, in 2003, and Lisa Osanic, of the Collins-Bayridge District, in 2010. Osanic, who is running for the fourth time in the coming election, said her being acclaimed eight years ago was “the most wonderful feeling.” “There was no pressure,” she recalled, “you were just elated. I don’t care what anyone else says — it’s the dream of every councillor, every politician, to be acclaimed.” There was, too, a feeling of guilt, though. Osanic said fellow councillors who didn’t land her kind of luck in being acclaimed would crack playful jokes towards her during election season. “Every time you’d go to committee meetings or council meetings, all of your fellow councillors would rip you,” she said, laughing. “They’d say, ‘Oh, must be nice,’ and, ‘Oh, going home to watch TV tonight, Lisa?’” Osanic said she didn’t visit people within her district throughout her 2010 council bid so as to avoid confusion from community members. “I didn’t want to have people ask I’m doing at their door,” she recalled. “Instead, I put out a brochure that listed all the accomplishments in the district over the past four years and what I wanted to work on. But I mailed it out after the election so there was no confusion. “It was a fun election as opposed to a work election, or a panic election.” John Gerretsen, involved in city politics as both councillor and mayor from 1972-88, sees acclamations a little differently. He said it’s satisfying — even humbling — but that it detracts from the adrenaline of the campaign process. “Does every politician secretly wish they’d be acclaimed? Of course, they do. It’s a lot less work, and you also feel good because the vast majority of people think you’ve done a good job,” Gerretsen, who was acclaimed once in 1974 as a city councillor, told the Whig-Standard. “But there’s a certain excitement to going into campaign-mode.” Candidates who are acclaimed don’t get the same thrill of being elected, Gerretsen added. They don’t get quite the same feeling, same rush as other candidates receive. “There’s a good feeling to having to spend the next couple of months trying to meet as many people as possible in your district. And then seeing that pay off on election night … it’s a good feeling.” Acclamations are unusual, but Boehme’s strikes a bit of a different chord. In 2014, then his second municipal election, he was a part of the city’s tightest council race. He edged out his opponent, Karen Pagratis, by just 47 votes, 1,310 to 1,260, respectively. “It’s unusual, because there typically are many people out there that want to run,” Gerretsen said. “There always seems to be people, in the last minute, who put their names forward.” Such was the case with incumbent mayor Bryan Paterson, who, a week before the deadline to file nomination papers, faced no opponents — now, he has three. Incumbents seeking re-election, though, are often given the benefit of the doubt by voters, Gerretsen, who’s never lost a municipal election, said. There are no parties involved, and votes are largely predicated on an individual basis. The more people you know in your individual district, the more likely you are to get elected. “Incumbents always have a big advantage, and the advantage is the good work they’ve done in their particular community; whereas a newcomer hasn’t had the opportunity to meet as many people in the district as the sitting councillor has,” Gerretsen said. “There is no question about it: incumbents always have a great advantage because they’ve gotten to know more people in their district.” Acclamation or otherwise — for Boehme, there’s still work left to be done in his district. There always will be. And he welcomes the responsibility of carrying out that progressive change. “I still intend on going out to events,” he said of the coming municipal campaign season. “I’m not resting on my laurels or accomplishments, by any means. There’s still a ton of work to do, and I want to try and get out to the community as much as possible.”